Kyle felt a sense of calm this time as he entered the strange space between. Instead of the raging storm that had been the Endless, an existence fueled by consumption and conflict, he found himself growing in concert with the pseudo-world tree. As it grew and drew mana from the earth, in turn Kyle drew mana from the tree. A token was found, a small seed that was drawn in as soon as it was touched. It allowed the creature to hear a sorrowful song, of growth, rot, and death from the tree, only for hopeful notes to punctuate the end, before beginning again. Kyle, the Eye, loved the tree. Many others came to attempt and lay claim to the treasure, they were all drowned in a storm of dust and wind. The existence was a peaceful, contemplative one.
That is, until the metallic birds attacked. The equilibrium was broken, the environment was destroyed, and the sad song began to make sense. No matter what, there was no coming back for the forest. The tree had grown too quickly, drawn too much energy. The little seed seemed to understand that, on some level. The fight began, and there was no hope for victory. Kyle felt the searing pain in the wings as they were destroyed, and then it was just the Eye and Kyle.
It hated him, that much was clear, but there was something else beneath the surface. After the massive attack, Kyle could almost feel a sense of approval from the creature. The seed was passed on, followed by the creature’s consciousness. Kyle was once again alone in the space, enjoying a moment of respite before the attention of the presence bore down on him.
AMUSING, LITTLE LARVA. ONCE AGAIN YOU SURPASS EXPECTATIONS.
I’ve taken out two of the four, I should be the frontrunner at this point. Kyle chose to keep the thoughts to himself, not wanting to antagonize the creature, whatever it was. Instead, he asked a question he’d been holding on to.
“When you last spoke, you mentioned an ‘administrator.’ Who are they? How are they connected to all of this?”
THEY ARE, YET THEY ARE NOT. YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING MUCH MORE ON YOURSELF, LITTLE LARVA. HAD YOU FACED EITHER OF THE TWO ALONE, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN PREY. DO NOT LET FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES BREED ARROGANCE.
Kyle mentally kicked himself as he remembered the presence’s uncanny ability to sense his thoughts in this space. Still, he wasn’t going to leave an opportunity to ask another question.
“What is the purpose to all of this? You have to know that the world is dying, and it’s your fault. There’s no point if we’re all going to die anyway.”
DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE THERE CAN BE NO PURPOSE IN DEATH? NOTHING LEARNED? NOTHING CHANGED?
Memories with his grandfather bubbled to the forefront of his mind, images playing around him in the strange space. He found himself watching them, a fond smile growing on his face. You’ve got me there. Neither Kyle nor the presence spoke again, and moments later the vision ended.
Kyle awoke with a splitting headache. The first thing he noticed was that his armor had been removed. The second thing he noticed was that C.H.A.D.D. was nowhere to be found. He was in a small tent, and he looked around frantically. He saw his gear resting in one corner of the room, and that he’d been cleaned up. Tossing on a fresh set of clothes, Kyle exited the tent.
As suspected, he had been taken back to the base camp. Kyle winced as he took in the bright light, his headache not abating in the slightest. Instantly, ADAPTIVE REGENERATION activated, causing him to jump in surprise. There was no effort, no push to activate the skill. It just… happened. Ordinarily, this would be worth stopping everything to investigate. After his encounter with the Eye? Essence shenanigans. C.H.A.D.D. could confirm, but he was confident in his guess.
Walking through the camp, it was suspiciously quiet until he turned a corner towards the mess tent. Twenty or so men and women were gathered around a table, all staring at a projected image of him… twirling.
[AND THEN DR. MAYHEW – THE ONYX WARRIOR – SAT ON THE GROUND AND LOOKED AT TREES FOR ALMOST AN HOUR. WE CAN SKIP THAT PART, IT WAS QUITE BORING. LET ME SHOW YOU HIS FIGHT WITH THE MANTIS AGAIN. OH, THERE HE IS NOW.]
The C.H.A.D.D.pack was resting on a chair near the middle of the group, and at the drone’s words all eyes turned to him. The looks of astonishment on their faces made him worry he’d put on his shirt wrong, but a quick check disproved the theory. People made way for him to approach the pack, and he recognized the group he’d saved from the cloud of toxic scales.
Before addressing the elephant in the room, he decided to check on them and see if he could break the ice.
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“How are you all feeling?”
“Still some numbness in the fingers from time to time, though that’s a hell of a lot better than it could have been. Thank you, Onyx Warrior.”
He stopped in his tracks, and glared at the pack.
“No. Nope. Stop that. You are not giving me a name like that. C.H.A.D.D., I don’t know what you’ve been up to, or what you told these people, but we are setting the record straight.”
Kyle turned to the group.
“I’m just Kyle. You can call me Dr. Mayhew if you choose. That’s it. Now, if it’s not too much trouble, I’m starving.”
After piling vegetable-filled pancakes on a tray, he sat in a quickly-vacated seat next to the C.H.A.D.D.pack. A soft voice popped up from one of the men in the group.
“Can you show us the fight with the mantis? I heard it was really something to watch.”
Kyle’s headache intensified.
“What do you mean, you ‘heard it was really something?’ How long was I out?”
[APPROXIMATELY THREE DAYS, DR. MAYHEW. IT WAS QUITE BORING WAITING IN THE TENT, SO I OFFERED TO HELP THE EXPEDITION.]
Three days. That’s concerning.
“And how long did you wait before offering?”
[SIX HOURS AND THIRTEEN MINUTES.]
Kyle rubbed his eyes with his palms.
“And how long did you wait before showing videos and making up ridiculous names for me?”
[I DIDN’T MAKE UP THE TITLE, DR. MAYHEW.]
“How long, C.H.A.D.D.?”
[OH LOOK, CAPTAIN ROCHELLE IS COMING. HELLO, CAPTAIN ROCHELLE!]
Glaring at the drone one more time, Kyle then turned to see Rochelle approaching. She was in her combat uniform; daggers present on her hip and a wolfish grin on her face.
“If it isn’t the Onyx Warrior. Nice of you to wake up from your nap to grace us with your presence.”
The gathered expedition members stifled chuckles, though the ones nearest to Kyle did shy away a bit, trying not to show their amusement.
“Please don’t.”
Rochelle snorted.
“It’s either the Onyx Warrior or Sleeping Beauty. Thank your pal for that. Either way, finish up your meal and pop by the command tent. We have some business to discuss.”
With a playful glint in her eye, she turned and walked away. Kyle’s glare silenced the men and women around him, who all found excuses to wrap up their meals and get back to work, leaving Kyle alone with C.H.A.D.D. and a plate of pancakes.
“What are you doing, C.H.A.D.D.? We agreed you’d keep a low profile, and you pull a stunt like this?”
The anger in his voice surprised him, but he didn’t back down from it. The drone had put both of them at risk.
[I WANTED TO SEE THE TREE AGAIN WHILE THEY WERE SEARCHING FOR TREASURES.]
Kyle paused. That was a much more well-reasoned take than he’d expected.
“Why did you want to see the tree?”
[I WANTED TO CONFIRM THAT THERE WERE NO OTHER SEEDS. I WAS ALSO HELPFUL IN DETECTING THE OTHER TREASURES INSIDE THE TREE. CAPTAIN ROCHELLE WAS MOST PLEASED.]
“So there were more seeds?”
[NO, HOWEVER THERE WERE A WIDE VARIETY OF OTHER TREASURES.]
Kyle felt a knot of worry in his stomach.
“Does the expedition know that the other treasures aren’t seeds?”
[I CANNOT CONFIRM WHAT THEY MAY OR MAY NOT THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY DISCOVERED.]
“Dammit, C.H.A.D.D. This is dangerous.”
[I AM AWARE, DR. MAYHEW. FINISH YOUR MEAL. CAPTAIN ROCHELLE IS WAITING FOR US.]
Kyle wanted to say more; however, he knew that delaying longer than necessary would likely build suspicion. He finished up the savory pancakes in a quick few bites, the wonderful flavors washed out by the apprehension he carried. If C.H.A.D.D. had let too much slip, or caused Corthian Mining to grow concerned, they could be in trouble. While he was still shaky on the rules surrounding AI in the broader universe, he was certain C.H.A.D.D. was well and truly in a grey area, if not beyond.
Making their way to the command tent, Kyle was greeted by a smirk from Rochelle.
“Onyx Warrior, huh?”
“Don’t blame me, blame C.H.A.D.D. I was unconscious.”
[AS A POINT OF FACT, I HEARD ONE OF THE OTHERS REFER TO YOU AS SUCH. I MERELY PICKED IT UP.]
Kyle scowled.
“And passed it on, and added it to movies apparently.”
[TECHNICALLY, DR. MAYHEW THEY WEREN’T – ]
“Get back on track, both of you.”
Rochelle’s voice wasn’t raised, but it carried with it the hallmark of authority. Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. stopped speaking, turning their attention to the middle of the room.
“First, it’s hilarious. Second, your little drone might have changed the outcome of your people, Kyle.”
“How so?”
Rochelle gestured to the table in the middle of the tent, and a leger projected from it.
“We’re still categorizing it all, but as things stand, we acquired nearly thirty unique treasures from the tree, and after processing more of the lumber we’ll have significantly more. Beyond that, we have twelve strong candidates for world tree seeds.”
Kyle’s eyes were still scanning the ledger as he tried to catch his breath. The values attributed to each were massive. Rochelle narrowed the display down to only show the twelve items, each of which carried the largest value by a factor of twenty.
“Even if they don’t succeed in sprouting a true world tree, each of these will fetch an enormous price at auction. Depending on how the other items sell, your contribution may well get your people out of the slums.”
Rochelle’s warm smile faltered a bit as she met his eyes.
“Chester was particularly impressed. You’ll be shipping out soon, a shuttle was en route when he got news you were awake. He’s hoping that C.H.A.D.D. will be able to replicate this success. The two of you are about to get very, very busy.”
“I don’t know if I should be excited or terrified.”
“Probably both. Be careful out there, Kyle. You’re a good man. Don’t let that get you killed.”
Before he could respond, she grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss. Kyle stiffened at first, but soon returned it. The moment was fleeting, and soon she leaned back, a glint in her grey eyes.
“Now get moving. And C.H.A.D.D., I don’t want to hear a word out of you.”
[UNDERSTOOD, CAPTAIN ROCHELLE.]